9/12/09

The Guzzigalore

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Paul is a freelance journalist from Netherlands. This Dutch/Nigerian born guy is 43 years old and lived 20 years in downtown Amsterdam. He wrote those lines in 2007 during his trip from Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaïa.

Take time to take a look on his cool website and here is a small resume of his story.

" No doubt that I’m the slowest motorcycle traveler in the world. It’s not the bike that slows me down. The idea was to roar the Guzzi in one year from top (Prudhoe Bay, Alaska) to bottom (Ushuaia, Argentina).

It took me only 1.5 month to get from Prudhoe Bay to Tijuana in Mexico, a 13000 k’s ride on a 32 year old Moto Guzzi V7. I spent half a year in the republic of Mexico and saw most of the time nothing but beaches and empty beer bottles.While playing with the waves in Puerto Escondido I decided to take as long as I need.

I’m not a biker I just love bikes, si señor. Didn’t ever bother to get my car drives license. Cars are for wankers. Besides, in a car you’re locked up, smelling your own farts. On a bike you leave the comfort zone."

The Moto Guzzi V7 :

In February 1967, SEIMM (Società Esercizio Industrie Moto Meccaniche), a state controlled receiver, took ownership of Moto Guzzi. The SEIMM oversight saw Moto Guzzi adapting to a cultural shift away from motorcycles to automobiles. The company focused on popular lightweight mopeds including the Dingo and Trotter — and the 125 cc Stornello motorcycle. Also during the SEIMM years Guzzi developed the 90° V twin engine, designed by Giulio Cesare Carcano, which would become iconic of Moto Guzzi.

Though Moto Guzzi has employed engines of myriad configurations, none has come to symbolize the company more than the air-cooled 90° V-twin with a longitudinal crankshaft orientation and the engine's transverse cylinder heads projecting prominently on either side of the bike. The original V-twin was designed in the early 1960s by engineer Giulio Cesare Carcano, designer of the DOHC V8 Grand Prix racer. The air-cooled, longitudinal crankshaft, transverse cylinder, pushrod V-twin began life with 700 cc displacement and 45 hp (34 kW) – designed to win a competition sponsored by the Italian government for a new police bike.

The sturdy shaft-drive, air-cooled V-twin won, giving Moto Guzzi renewed competitiveness. This 1967 Moto Guzzi V7 with the original Carcano engine has been continuously developed into the 1200 cc, 80 hp (60 kW) versions offered today (2006). Lino Tonti redesigned the motor for the 1971 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport. This engine is the basis of the currently used 750 cc, 1100 cc and 1200 cc Guzzi engines. Notably, the longitudinal crankshaft and orientation of the engine creates a slight gyroscope effect, with a slightly asymmetrical behavior in turns.